The flag of Nunavut, it features a stylized image of the traditional Inuit land market, and inukshuk, which is used to guide Inuit travels in the Arctic and to mark sacred places, while the star represents the North Star

The flag of Nunavut, it features a stylized image of the traditional Inuit land market, and inukshuk, which is used to guide Inuit travels in the Arctic and to mark sacred places, while the star represents the North Star

History, Apr 01, 1999, Canada’s newest territory

On this date, a vast new territory in Canada’s far north was created.

Becoming the third territory after the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories. It was from this enormous latter territory that the new entity of Nunavut was created.  Nunavut  is an Inuit word meaning “our land”.

The huge Northwest territories was divided to create a new territory of Nunavut which was created officially on this date, April 1, 1999
The huge Northwest territories was divided to create a new territory of Nunavut which was created officially on this date, April 1, 1999 © Natural Resources Canada- U Laval

About 85 percent of the region’s almost 32,000 residents are Inuit.

The concept for greater Inuit self government and control over the area had begun back in the early 1970’s as the Inuit sought a land claims agreement.

After campaigning for years and a couple of plebicites in which the vote was clearly for a new Inuit territory, negotiations began in earnest

After years of talks, the largest land claims settlement in Canadian history was signed comprised of about two million square kilometres in the central and eastern Arctic

It gave the Inuit control over 350,000 sq/km of land, which includes mineral rights to 36,000 sq/km and a billion dollar cash settlement over 14 years.

The deal signed in 1992, included wording that a new Inuit territory be created with borders to be established and to work towards creation of a territorial government.  This was approved by Parliament in 1993, and it was on this day in 1999 that the new territory officially came into being, thereby changing Canada’s map for the first time since Newfoundland joined the Confederation on March 31, 1949.

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